Hi Mark,
I hope you are doing fine as well. It is not a pleasant time for anyone, and perhaps not the only problem people have to face, I assume.
Besides, we are all working hard to get the curve as flat as possible.
No other safe place to go than into creativity and fantasy.
Well, I hope we get something useful done with our ideas until some geniuses find a good counter-agent. I assume in 18 months, lots of traveling will be way up on the list. Can’t wait.
Sketchfab:
I would say that there are two ways to get models into Cinema 4D. Direct download, or via the plug-in. (I got that you like to avoid the plug-in)
The direct download is dependent on the provided file format, whereby not all will work directly. Some are done in Blender, for example, and need a full detour to be available, more or less. Others are in obj or dae, as well as fbx available, which should work flawlessly. (Again, I have only tested a few.
The plug-in with the option import is here:
https://github.com/sketchfab/c4d-plugin/releases/tag/1.3.0
I have tested both ways, and it works nicely with R21. Of course, I can’t speak for all available models. I tested only some of the free options.
A Cineversity series is here: R17
https://www.cineversity.com/vidplaylist/sketchfab_cinema_4d_exporter/sketchfab_cinema_4d_exporter_sketchfab_exporter_plugin
I hope you get something beautiful for your project.
Stay safe, stay healthy.
Cheers